Chemistry students with Principal Mr Coen and guest Miss Namrah Shahid
Earlier this year 34 determined and keen science students from Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College voluntarily sat the 90 minute Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, organised by the Science Department. With an outcome of an amazing 15 students receiving an award, the chemistry team praised all who took part and commented that everyone who attempted the paper is a superstar!
The awards are broken down into Gold, with students demonstrating an ability to tackle a range of different chemical topics under time pressure; Silver, representing a very good achievement in this paper with students showing they could think their way through unfamiliar material; and Copper, awarded to 36% of entrants nationally and reflecting a reasonable grasp of A level material with the ability to apply this knowledge to novel problems.
Our Principal Mr Coen presented the awards of 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 12 Copper (as bronze does not appear on the periodic table!) to the group. Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College student Hannah Watson-Hill wowed us with her glittering Gold award for the Challenge and said she was both pleased and surprised with her result describing the exam as hard work. Hannah hopes to use her superb science skills and study towards a career in civil engineering.
Invited to the awards exhibition was guest Miss Namrah Shahid, a postgraduate student from Leeds University’s Chemistry Department who attended Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College between 2011-2013 and studied A level Biology, Chemistry, Maths and French. Miss Shahid has graduated with a 1st in a Masters in Chemistry this summer. In addition she is also: the founder of the prayer space in the Leeds University Laidlaw library, on the shortlist for the Academic Representative of the Year, a Leeds Partnership Equality and Diversity Award Winner, NUS Women’s Inspirational Higher Education Woman of the Year 2017 (runner up) and over-all a wonderful role-model for our students.